The 6th Annual Riders’ Poll Awards Smokes San Diego

TransWorld SNOWboarding took over downtown San Diego last night, Wednesday, September 9, with the 6th Annual Rider’s Poll Awards. The event was held at the swank club On Broadway, a welcome change from last year’s sweltering Wonder Bread Factory “hotbox location. The who’s who of snowboarding showed up on the red carpet dressed in their best to party hard. Tara Dakides, Iikka Backstrom, Janna Meyen, Jeremy Jones, every rider from Portland and/or Tahoe, Burton peeps, Fox 54321, The Familie, f—kin’ Tommy Lee even showed up…and complemented Grenerd Kevin Cassillo on his freshly teased-up hair.

The winners of the Rider’s Poll were determined by polling more then 100 pro snowboarders, and the Reader’s Choice Award was decided by reader votes. “The snowboarders we honored last night are the best-of-the-best, the ones who deserve it,hands down, Kurt Hoy, Editor In Chief of TWS said of the winners. The podium broke down like this:Rock Star of the Year: Marc Frank Montoya Rookie Of The Year: Leanne Pelosi and Travis Kennedy Riders of the Year: Janna Meyen and Travis Rice

The Reader’s Choice Awards went to the lovely Gretchen Bleiler and Burton rider Jeremy Jones.The agreed upon highlight of the awards show was definitely Janna Meyen’s acceptance speech for Female Rider Of The Year. Once the hooting and hollerin’ died down, Janna, in an uncharacteristically soft-spoken tone, accepted her award, saying, “This means a lot to me. Sometimes I feel like I get overlooked. I just love riding my snowboard. After so many years, Janna’s fellow riders finally got the chance to give her the props she deserves.

Neoproto’s newest flick, “Everyday Something premiered after the awards with directors Pierre Minhondo and Justin Eeles sweatin’ the small stuff from the control balcony. The movie was a grown-up version of last year’s Neoproto debut.

L.A. band Vagenius rocked the crowd. Booze was flowing and there wasn’t a shortage of make-out sessions littering the club’s lush red couches. Several Neoprotians and Neoproho’s were suspect. Posses of squeaky Finn’s like Lauri, Jussi, and Iikka bounced off in one direction; swarms of Portland dirt riders went another, and in the end, TWS Editor Chris Coyle woke up with a wicked hangover for his thirtieth birthday this morning. Ouch.